From the black swastika in the old Microsoft Word logo, to an ‘all seeing eye’ in the Freemason insignia, ancient symbols are still being used, even if unwittingly, in the modern world. Spirals, triangles and crosses abound, and as societies developed, they took what they liked from other cultures, sometimes resulting in different meanings for the same symbol.
Although the meanings of symbols may change over time and cultures, it seems that there a core set of symbols, which have influenced all those that have followed.
Ankhs, crosses and whorls have all been translated over time, but it's the swastika that has had the most dramatic, and negative, makeover.
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Images of swastikas can also be found on several church bells in Yorkshire, where they were used as charms to protect against lightning
This dish is in a typical 'Black Dipliyon Style' which uses a lot of black varnish wih geometrical figures. The geometrical figures alternate. As the motives becomes more complicated they fill the empty spaces with mostly swastikas. This dish is typical of this style with animal figures followed by the geometrical figures, and the empty space in the middle filled with the swasticas.
Swastika comes from the word 'sanskritor', which means 'wellbeing' and 'good luck'. The symbol was painted on objects to bring good luck to the owner.
The symbol has been used by many cultures from India to Iran and mostly in Greece, but it is now more widely associated with the German Nazi party, who adopted it as their symbol.
Thomas Schneider is exploring a subject that has never been studied before. The University of British Columbia professor is examining the history of German Egyptology during the Nazi era. The period that lasted from when Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933 - until he committed suicide in his bunker in 1945.
The research is a work in progress and Professor Schneider continues to receive new archival documents and information. He plans to turn his work into a book length manuscript.
While popular fiction, such as the Indiana Jones trilogy, depicts action packed films about this topic, the real story is far more complex.
Professor Schneider generously took the time to talk about his research with me. He also provided me with detailed written notes, that outline his research, to help me write this story.
Hitler Comes to Power
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"Germany had basically sacrificed, through the NS regime, its academic standing."
Professor of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies - University of British Columbia
Professor Thomas Schneider is a Professor of Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver Canada.
He holds a Habilitation, Dr.phil, and MA in Egyptology from Basel University in Switzerland.
From 2005 to 2008 he was professor of Egyptology at Swansea University in Wales. From 2001 to 2005 he was a Research Professor in Egyptology, with the Swiss National Science Foundation.
He has also been a visiting professor at Heidelberg University and the University of Vienna in Austria.
His publications include, Lexicon of the Pharaohs. The ancient Egyptian kings from the earliest times to the Roman Empire and Asian personal names in Egyptian sources of the New Kingdom and Foreigners in Egypt during the Middle Kingdom and the Hyksos.
He has two books coming out in 2010. One is The historian and the Egyptian history. An introduction to Egyptology Historiography. The other is The 101 most important questions: Ancient Egypt.
He is also working on a book on German Egyptology during the Nazi era (1933-1945).
